If you’re looking for a slightly different theme for your Halloween party, why not make it a Hawaiian Halloween Luau?

In preparation, decorate your home with a blend of Hawaiian props, such as inflatable palm trees and Tiki totem poles, but give it a ghoulish Halloween twist. For example, you could have a cardboard cut-out Hawaiian Hula girl, but give her a witch’s hat and broom.

For drinks, serve tropical cocktails, but add food colouring where necessary to give them the appearance of blood or slime. For extra effect, give them names like Tiki Terror, or Island Zombie.

With the costumes you can get really creative in combining the two themes together to make a Halloween night to remember. Send out invitations to your guests with some ideas for inspiration. You might try creating a Hawaiian zombie with a flower lei around his neck and a blood-splattered Hawaiian shirt. Or perhaps an enchanting yet terrifying vampire wearing a beautiful Hawaiian dress and dead flowers in her hair.

For extra ambience and atmosphere it’s a good idea to create a soundtrack that fits with your Halloween theme. If you’re good with technology you could combine Halloween sounds and traditional Hawaiian steel guitar music on your computer, or if not, simply hook up two stereos- one playing island rhythms and the other Halloween sound effects.